Shared electronic documents, folders and threads (collectively, “documents”) facilitate the exchange of ideas and information via a network. In order to facilitate access, the shared documents may be distributed across multiple servers in the network. In particular, network collaboration tools facilitate access to the documents by maintaining a local copy of each document on multiple servers that are in communication via a network, i.e., each copy is local to a given server. When a user prompts a computer to access the document, the computer obtains a copy of the document from a logically nearby server. The multiple local copies of the document are synchronized in order to maintain document integrity, i.e., to avoid spawning different versions of the document. In particular, the local copies of the document are synchronized once one of the local copies has been modified. Synchronization may be accomplished by transferring an indication of the changes made to the document to each server that maintains a local copy of the document. The existing local copy of the document is then updated with the changes to the modified document.
Proper synchronization of the local copies of the document is reliant upon proper network operation. For example, if any of the servers that maintain a local copy of the document functions poorly or fails, or if a network node such as a switch or router connected between servers functions poorly or fails, synchronization may be delayed or fail. It would be desirable to be able to locate the cause of such a delay or failure.